Getting ready to fly to California to visit Joe McPadden, our brother-in-law, I was intent on not being caught again with something forbidden to be carried on board the plane.

    When we went west a year ago to see Joe, I had been successful in going through the airport’s metal detector before boarding except for one thing — the metal buckle on my belt. On that occasion I had whipped off the offending belt and handed it to the guy at the detector, offering to pass through again.

    That didn’t work. “Back in the line, sir” was the instruction.

    So this time I went to the metal detector with no pants belt, advising Mary  beforehand to let me know if she noticed any slipping of my pants, something which of course could have led to embarrassment.

    The plan worked. No beeping when I walked through the detector.

    But a large tube of toothpaste in my carry-on bag turned out to be beyond the size limit allowed. With apologies, albeit a firm one, the toothpaste was confiscated.

    Foiled again.

    *****

    We were in Washington, D.C., for three days, including Easter, before leaving from Baltimore/Washington International Airport for California.

    At one point during that time we were in Northwest D.C. With son Paul driving, we went by Vice President Joe Biden’s new home, which until 1974 was the residence of the chief of naval operations. In that year Congress decided the 1893 mansion at Number One Observatory Circle was better suited to house the vice president.

    Comment has been made that the lovely home on the 14 acres of the Naval Observatory is a finer residence than the White House.

    But, that aside, the next day we were in a cab and mentioned to the driver that we had seen Biden’s new home.

    “Once or twice a week I see his car when he’s going home about 5:30,” the driver said enthusiastically in a rich Caribbean accent. “I love that man! He’s a smiley!”

    Joe’s frequent broad smiles obviously make a favorable impression and, in this driver’s case, help excuse the blocked streets and police escort involved in the vice president’s city travel.

    *****

    In years past we had visited the Palm Springs Art Museum and on this trip we decided to go again to see a featured exhibit. It celebrates the 70 years of painting by Wayne Thiebaud, a Californian still teaching at the University of California, Davis campus.  

    He’s 89 and we were told he plays tennis regularly.

    He is also, to my mind, and I’m sure to many experts who actually know something about art, one of the world’s greatest painters.

    Over the years Mary and I have been to many art museums and enjoyed them, but our pleasure in seeing varied and colorful examples of this artist’s work exceeded all our previous experiences. People who know him also said he is an unassuming person without what might be called an artistic temperament.

    We had to confess we were not even familiar with his name before seeing his work.

    *****

    As another instance of our limited knowledge of what’s happening under the broad heading of the arts, we also had never heard of Kevin Spiritas. But we saw him perform in the museum’s Annenberg Theater in a program of singing and dancing. Among his TV, film and stage credits are the 7.5 years as Dr. Craig Wesley on “Days of Our Lives,” a role that earned him “Best Villain” and “Best Supporting Actor” by Soap Digest and TV Guide respectively.

    He really has a great voice and he dedicated one of his songs to Mrs. Frank Sinatra, who was in the audience.

    *****

    The sad state of the national economy is being talked about and experienced everywhere but it is a particularly bleak subject in California. Upping the sales tax to 8.75% is among the many tough steps being taken to keep the state government afloat.

    Palm Springs, where we were staying, is known as an affluent community but its current unemployment rate is 10.3%.

    It isn’t helping the economy here that the tourist season in the Coachella Valley, the desert area in which Palm Springs is one of a string of small cities, is tapering off. Summer temperatures will hit as high as 115 degrees. We found ourselves in 100-plus temperatures this week for the first time in our lives.

    *****

    While we were gone we received happy news by telephone from the East. Our daughter Ruth Clifton and her husband Don of Milford became grandparents with the birth of Calvin David Ziegler, son of Mary (Clifton) and Joe Ziegler of Pennington, N.J. 

    This is the first grandchild for Ruth and Don and the first great-grandchild for us.

    *****

    This aggressive guy was hitting on a young woman he had just met at a party and after he had plied her with eight drinks he asked: “Don’t you ever feel your liquor, honey?”

    “Of course not,” she said. “Why should I get my fingers wet?”